BOSTON (AP) 鈥 The 好色tv Women鈥檚 Soccer League expansion team in Boston apologized on Wednesday for a 鈥淭oo Many Balls鈥 marketing campaign that draw a harsh reaction from the transgender community and others.
A day after as part of the rollout of the team name BOS Nation FC, the organization said in a statement that 鈥渨e missed the mark鈥 with an attempt to 鈥渃reate a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign.鈥
"We fully acknowledge that the content of the campaign did not reflect the safe and welcoming environment we strive to create for all,鈥 the team said, 鈥渁nd we apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to the trans community in particular for the hurt we caused.鈥
The new name, an anagram of Bostonian that also played upon being a 鈥渂oss,鈥 was announced Tuesday along with a video celebrating the city鈥檚 professional sports history 鈥 mostly accomplished by men 鈥 with the narrator saying, 鈥淏oston loves its balls鈥 and 鈥渢here are too many balls in this town.鈥
It concluded: 鈥淲e are BOS Nation, where anything is possible. No balls necessary,鈥 with the exception, the video noted, of a soccer ball.
鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to see the community鈥檚 response,鈥 Jennifer Epstein, one of the team鈥檚 owners, . Actress and director Elizabeth Banks and Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman also are part of the all-female ownership group.
But what they got wasn鈥檛 what they expected.
Among the reactions was an Instagram post from Seattle midfielder Quinn, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, saying, 鈥淔eels transphobic. Yikes.鈥
The team took the video down from its website, and its website was a dead link on Wednesday. The public relations agency that sent out the news release on the launch forwarded the team's statement to the AP, but more details about the campaign were not immediately available.
鈥淲e are proud to be part of the most inclusive sports league in the world and are committed to upholding the unifying values that define the NWSL and our club,鈥 the team posted on X. 鈥淭hank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you and we will, together.鈥
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